Rake.



S. E. NORMAN.

Patented Jan. 9, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

S. E. NORMAN.

RAKE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29, 1909.

1,014.250. Paten ed Jan- 9, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

cqLuMam PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, D. c.

STERLING E. NORMAN, OF ATTLEBORO, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan". 9,1912.

Application filed September 29, 1909. Serial No. 520,144.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STERLING E. NORMAN, citizen of the United States,residing at Attleboro, in the county of Bristol and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRakes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to garden rakes, and the object thereof is toprovide a hand rake which will not foul, but is so formed that the teethmove under the material being raked, and may be cleared by a simplerearward movement of the rake.

Another object is to combine with the rake as above described, a shieldlocated rearward of the points of the teeth, said shield preferablyforming a pocket into which the material raked up is gathered andretained during the advance movement of the rake, this pocket being ofvery light material and preferably formed so that air currents will notbe created upon a backward movement of the rake, which would tend toscatter the leaves and trash over a surface already raked.

Broadly, my invention consists in providing a hand rake wherein theteeth have such an angular relation to the handle that instead ofprojecting downward toward the round when the rake is being used, theywill extend along parallel with or upon the ground or surface beingraked, and rest thereon, approximately their whole length, a scraper baror blade being provided, extending transversely across the teeth andlocated rearward of the points thereof, this scraping bar, by itsposition relative to the teeth, being adapted to scrape beneath the Ileaves, trash, etc., being raked, and so lift the material onto thescraping plate and onto the body of the rake. This scraping bar, plate,or blade, not only performs this function, but it prevents leaves andtrash from being forced down to the base of the rake teeth and becomingso fouled therewith as to make the teeth diflicult to clean.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof, and toacquire a knowledge of the details of construction, reference is to behad to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of my device; Fig. 2 is aside view thereof;

Fig. 3 is'a perspective view of another form of the invention, the bodybeing partly broken away; Fig. 3 is a perspective detail view showingthe manner of reinforcing the shield plate in Fig. 3; Fig. 4 is a sideelevation of Fig. '3; Fig. 5 is a side view of a form of my device,similar to that in Fig. 3, but provided with detachable teeth; Fig. 6 isa sectional plan view, enlarged, showin the manner of fastening thedetachable rake teeth in place; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of anotherform of rake; Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the toothed bar andteeth thereon; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of another form of theinvention; and, Fig. 10 is a sectional plan view of a portion of Fig.11, showing the manner in which the detachable teeth are held in place.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

Referring now to Fig. 1, 2 designates a rake handle, and 3 the cross baror head attached thereto. To the cross bar are attached a plurality offlattened wires or strips L which extend rearward from the cross bar orin a direction away from the handle, then downward, and then forward ata relatively sharp angle, as at 5, the angle of the teeth 5 being insuch relation to the handle that when the handle is in its ordinaryraking position the straight portion 5 of the rake teeth will lie flatupon the ground, as shown in Fig. 4:. A cross bar 6 is attached to therake teeth, rearward of the points thereof, this cross bar or bladehaving a relatively sharp forward edge, extending transversely betweenthe teeth and at right angles thereto, so that it will slip beneathleaves, trash, or other material beingraked, and lift the same onto thecross bar and the teeth. This cross bar may be attached to the teeth inany convenient manner, but I have shown the ends of the teeth asreturned, as at 7 and the cross bar as held between the teeth and saidreturned portion, the cross bar being riveted or otherwise attached tothe teeth. This cross bar not only slips beneath the material beingraked, but it prevents the teeth from becoming fouled, by preventingleaves and trash from being pushed backward on the rake and the basethereof. As the rake teeth only project a short distance from the edgeof the cross bar or blade 6, a comparatively small amount of trash willclog the teeth,

and this may be easily removed by a rear ward movement of the rake. Thehandle 3 is provided with the diagonally extending braces 8 attached tothe cross bar at their outer ends.

Another form, of my invention is shown in Fig. 3, wherein the body ofthe rake is formed by a plate 10 of metal, wood, or other like andsuitable material, constituting a shield which is attached at its middleto the handle 11, this plate being bent downward, outward and inward, asat 12, and being provided along its edge. with a pluralityof rake teeth,these teeth being spaced from each other so that the margin of theshield 10 extends between the teeth rearward of the apices thereof andat right angles thereto. The lower margin of the shield 10 is fiat so asto lie approximately fiat upon the ground or the surface being raked,when the handle is in its usual position. While the teeth might beformed by cutting the margin of the.portion'13, yet preferably Ireinforce this margin by attaching thereto a transverse plate or blade14 having teeth 15 cut therefrom. This plate or bar 14 and the edge ofthe shield are equivalent to the cross bar 6 in operation. In otherwords, they slip beneath the leaves and trash and lift the same onto thebody of the rake. The teeth will lie flat upon the surface being rakedand, being relatively thin, will easily slip beneath the leaves. Thematerial lifted by the rake will therefore be collected in the rearportion of the shield which forms a pocket to this end. A reinforcingstrip or brace 16 is attached to the rake handle and extends down andaround the body portion of shield 10, the extremity of the strip 16being inserted between the bar '14 and the edge of the shield, and beingheld in place therein by a rivet. Preferably, the shield 10 isformedwith a plurality of slots 17, and the metal between the slots is ribbedor corrugated, as at 18, so as to additionally strengthen the shield. Inorder to further strengthen the shield, the slots 17 may be formed byslitting the metal and then bending the sides of the slit back onto thebody of the plate, Fig. 3.

In Fig. 6 I show another means of forming the rake teeth upon the marginof the shield 10. The margin of the. plate is formed with a plurality ofholes 19. A strip of wire 19 is then bent, as shown in Fig. 6, to form aplurality of loops, each loop constituting a rake tooth. These teethformed by the folded wire are inserted throu 'h the perforations 19, andthe margin 0 the plate is then bent over upon itself, thus holding theteeth securely in poas shown in the detail View,

sition. As shown at 19 in Fig. 6, the wire teeth need not be made of onecontinuous strip of wire, but the wire may be folded as previouslydescribed and then cut up into sections 19*, each section therebyforming a complete tooth. It will be seen that the construction shown inFig. 6 provides not only for a cheap and simple manner of making raketeeth, but also provides a reinforce for the margin of the shield. It isto be noted that in this construction also the teeth are spaced fromeach other and that there is provided a relatively thin blade extendingbetween the teeth rearward of the apices thereof and at right anglesthereto.

In Fig. 7 I show another form of my invention, in which the body of therake is' formed of wire netting or other like mawire netting is attachedto a plate 24 having thereon a series of rake teeth 25 of theconstruction previously described. Braces 26 extend from the handle tothe extremities of the body portion 21 so as to brace the same, thesebraces being preferably curved to conform with the curvature of thebody. The ends of the pocket formed'by the body portion are closed bytransverse wires 27. The strip 24 from which the projecting teeth areout reinforces the edge of the wire netting, and being connected to thecenter and end braces 26, prevents any defoi mation of the wire nettingforming the body. The teeth in this form of my invention are cut fromthe plate 24, and each tooth is slightly curved laterally so as tostrengthen it. These teeth are spaced from each other and the edge ofthe web between the teeth extends atright angles to the teeth. While Ihave described the body of the rake as being formed of wire netting, itis to be understood that it might also be formed of any other light andperforated or reticulated material.

In Figs. 9 and 10 I show another manner of attaching the rake teeth to ashield plate such as that shown in Fig. 8. In this form of my invention,the margin of the shield 40 is rearwardly bent, as at 4:1, forming 'afold in which the rake teeth may be retained. The margin of the plate isperforated and the rake teeth project through these perforations. Theteeth designated by the numeral 43 may be either of metal,"

wood, or other material, and each is provided-at its end with a head4:4. These teeth as in the other forms of my invention are spaced fromeach other and the margin of the plate extends between the teeth and atright angles thereto so as to provide a lifting edge, as previouslydescribed.

The advantages of my invention as embodied in the several forms shown,reside in the fact that the rake teeth lie flat upon the surface beingraked, and therefore easily slip beneath the leaves, trash or othermaterial. Instead of the material passing between the rake teeth, as inthe ordinary rakes, thus compelling the ground to be raked a number oftimes, the trash, leaves, etc., pass onto the upper surface of the raketeeth, and transverse blade or plate and are retained thereon. The raketeeth being flat and projecting as described, and being spaced from eachother and having a relatively flat thin lifting portion extendingbetween the teeth and at right angles there-- to do not pierce theleaves being raked, and thus no fouling of the rake can occur. The rakedoes not have to be lifted upon a rear Ward movement and then lowered,but as it moves rearward, it slides over the leaves or other materialbeing raked up. Atthe same time, a rearward movement of the rake willtend to clear the rake teeth of any trash that may gather thereon. Itwill be seen that the rake is so constructed as to prevent the materialengaged by the rake from passing out behind the teeth, and thus, whenthe rake has once been drawn overa surface, the surface will bepractically clean of trash, for none will be scattered by the rake inits passage.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. A rake having ahandle, a shield attached to the handle and extending downward therefromapproximately parallel thereto, and being then bent toward the free endof the handle at a slight angle therewith so that the bottom of theshield may rest upon the surface being raked, rake teeth extendingbeyond the edge of the shield and lying in the same plane as the fiatbottom of the shield, said rake teeth being straight for their entirelength and spaced from each other, the forward edge of the shieldextending transversely between the teeth inward of the margin thereof,and at right angles to the direction of the teeth.

2. A rake having a handle, a shield attached to the handle and extendingdownward therefrom approximately parallel thereto, and being then benttoward the free end of the handle at a slight angle therewith to form aflat portion adapted to rest upon the surface being raked, and a toothbar separate from and attached to the flat margin of the shield andhaving spaced teeth extending in the same plane as the fiat portion ofthe shield.

3. A rake having a handle, a shield attached to the handle, the upperportion of the shield being approximately parallel to the handle, thelower portion of the shield being bent and extending toward the free endof the handle, the upper portion of the 'shield overhanging the lowerportion, the lower edge of the shield being returned upon itself to forma fold, and a tooth bar of a length equal to the width of the lower edgeof the shield and formed with teeth extending out from the body of thetooth bar, said tooth bar being attached to the lower edge of the shieldso that its teeth shall project out in the same plane as the shield, andthereby rest their whole length on the ground.

4. A rake having a handle, a shield at tached to the handle, the upperportion of the shield being parallel to the handle, the lower portion ofthe shield being bent and extending toward the free end of the handle,the upper portion of the shield overhanging the lower portion, theloweredge of the shield being formed with a return bend, the fold formedthereby being provided with a plurality of perforations, and a tooth barfolded upon itself at equidistant points to form a plurality ofoutwardly projecting teeth, said tooth bar being carried within thereturn bend of the lower edge of the shield, the teeth projecting outthrough the perforations in the fold thereof.

' In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

STERLING E. NORMAN. [L.s.]

Witnesses:

FREnERIo B. WRIGHT, W. N. WOODSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G.

